1 BCE (2000 years ago) Roman trade in India through Sopara & Kalyan ports, Naneghat pass and then to Junnar, Nasik & Paithan in today's Maharashtra - Part 2
For first part, please visit https://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2022/07/1-bce-2000-years-ago-roman-trade-in.html .
The first part post dealt with the route from Arabian sea coast of Western India to Kalyan, for goods of Roman trade in 1 BCE (2000 years ago). In this post, I will cover the Kalyan to Naneghat pass journey on land, after which the route is on the Deccan plateau and would have been relatively straight forward from then on, to Junnar, Paithan and Nasik. So my post coverage will stop at Naneghat pass.
The Google map pic below shows the waterway from the West coast of India to Kalyan, and the land road from Kalyan to Murbad (labelled 61 and in yellow). The next Google map pic below shows the same land road continuing on from Murbad to Saralgaon, Tokawade and Vaishakhare. This road is referred to as Kalyan-Ahmednagar road. While this is a road of recent times, there would have been a similar land route from Kalyan to Vaishakhare or nearby areas in the past too.
[On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if available), right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.]
Now for an awesome drone video clip of Naneghat pass: Naneghat in 2 minutes || नाणेघाट || Cinematic Drone Shots, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOH_Q_1uXjE, 2 min. 5 secs., published by Aniket Padhye on 1st May 2021. The clip shows the path from the level ground below (with some tree cover) up the mountain pass and then the level ground above the mountain pass. This was the path taken by traders for goods that were exchanged between Rome and Deccan plateau cities two thousand years ago!
As per wikipedia, the altitude of Naneghat is 750 metres or 2461 feet (above sea level).
Note that this post will not focus on the Naneghat 2nd to 1st BCE inscriptions as they are covered in my earlier post: Oldest inscriptions referring to Hindu deities, in this case, Samkarshana and Vāsudeva (Balarama and Krishna) in 2nd/1st century BCE, https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2022/07/oldest-inscriptions-referring-to-hindu.html .
Given below are extracts from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naneghat
Naneghat, also referred to as Nanaghat or Nana Ghat (IAST: Nānāghaṭ), is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range between the Konkan coast and the ancient town of Junnar in the Deccan plateau. The pass is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Pune and about 165 kilometres (103 mi) east from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.[1] It was a part of an ancient trading route, and is famous for a major cave with Sanskrit inscriptions in Brahmi script and Middle Indo-Aryan dialect.[2] These inscriptions have been dated between the 2nd and the 1st century BCE, and attributed to the Satavahana dynasty era.[3][4][5]
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Nanaghat pass stretches over the Western Ghats, through an ancient stone laid hiking trail to the Nanaghat plateau. The pass was the fastest key passage that linked the Indian west coast seaports of Sopara, Kalyan and Thana with economic centers and human settlements in Nasik, Paithan, Ter and others, according to Archaeological Survey of India.[6] Near the top is large, ancient manmade cave. On the cave's back wall are a series of inscriptions, some long and others short. The high point and cave is reachable by road via Highways 60 or 61. The cave archaeological site is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Pune and about 165 kilometres (103 mi) east from Mumbai.[1] The Naneghat Cave is near other important ancient sites. It is, for example, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Lenyadri Group of Theravada Buddhist Caves and some 200 mounds that have been excavated near Junnar, mostly from the 3rd-century BCE and 3rd-century CE period. The closest station to reach Naneghat is Kalyan station which lies on the Central Line.[6]
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During the reign of the Satavahana (c. 200 BCE – 190 CE), the Naneghat pass was one of the trade routes. It connected the Konkan coast communities with Deccan high plateau through Junnar.[1] Literally, the name nane means "coin" and ghat means "pass". The name is given because this path was used as a tollbooth to collect toll from traders crossing the hills. According to Charles Allen, there is a carved stone that from distance looks like a stupa, but is actually a two-piece carved stone container by the roadside to collect tolls.[8]
[References:]
1. Georg Bühler 1883, pp. 53–54.
2. Theo Damsteegt 1978, p. 206, Quote: "A Hinduist inscription that is written in MIA dialect is found in a Nanaghat cave. In this respect, reference may also be made to a MIA inscription on a Vaishnava image found near the village Malhar in Madhya Pradesh which dates back to about the same age as the Nanaghat inscription."; see also page 321 note 19.
3. Richard Salomon 1998, p. 144.
4. Upinder Singh 2008, pp. 381–384.
5. Development Of Modern Numerals And Numeral Systems: The Hindu-Arabic system, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "The 1, 4, and 6 are found in the Ashoka inscriptions (3rd century bce); the 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9 appear in the Nana Ghat inscriptions about a century later; and the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 in the Nasik caves of the 1st or 2nd century CE — all in forms that have considerable resemblance to today’s, 2 and 3 being well-recognized cursive derivations from the ancient = and ≡."
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7. Vincent Lefèvre (2011). Portraiture in Early India: Between Transience and Eternity. BRILL Academic. pp. 33, 85–86. ISBN 978-9004207356.
8. Charles Allen 2017, pp. 169–170.
--- end wiki extracts ---
The following video is of few youngsters going on what is today a hiking trail from the Kalyan-Aurangabad road to Naneghat. This hiking trail must be either the same path that traders followed two thousand years ago, or close to it.
Prior to the video link, I have given below two Google Map Layers screenshots of the Naneghat hiking trail. The second of the pics gives a zoomed in view of the last part of the Naneghat hiking trail (towards Naneghat).
Naneghat - The most ancient trade route of Maharashtra | Cave Inscription at Naneghat |, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y1yBHg53FQ , around 17 mins, published by The Thoughtful Traveller on 15th March 2021.
Public Domain pic is shown below: Naneghat Caves as view from the pass.jpg
Above pic courtesy: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naneghat_Caves_as_view_from_the_pass.jpg
From the top of Naneghat pass the route to interior cities on Deccan Plateau in what is today's Maharashtra state, would have been relatively straight-forward and is not covered in this post.
[I thank Wikipedia and Google Maps, have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s)/maps from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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